Creating a Fun Gift Using Birthday Cards

I love making birthdays special for everyone in my family and our daughter’s friends are no exception. Raising two girls means lots and lots of birthday party invites which means I need to get creative at times. With back-to-school around the corner, one daughter soon to be in braces and the other in college within the next year, I am always looking for ways to save money.

Over the years I have created some pretty creative, as well as pretty cheap birthday decorations, gifts, and favors. Candy bar wreaths, ice cream sundae, and donut birthday parties to name a few. But I have always wanted to try using the items in the paper aisle as it pertains to birthdays, to create an easy gift.

Meijer is literally five minutes from our home which makes it the perfect place for us to stock up on what we need (and maybe some things we don’t….shh!).

American Greetingshas a huge selection of cards, gift bags, bows and all sorts of fun items to make birthday’s special. But I had big plans for these items, not exactly what you would expect from your normal birthday paper accessories.

I didn’t want to use them only for gift wrapping but rather as the gift!

I love how there were so many empowering messages on birthday cards for girls in the American Greetings aisle at Meijer. I always stock up because there is usually a birthday once a month or more, whether it be a friend or family member. I also love to just look at birthday cards even when I don’t “need” to get one. Some of the best cards I have ever given my kids or family members I bought long before their special day.

I mentioned before that I wanted to show you how to make the birthday cards and wrap the gift itself, so here is what you will need to do that:

-tissue paper

-birthday cards with pictures or messages on the front that you like

-a picture frame (or two), depending on how many gifts you’d like to make

You could also use gift wrapping or even gift bags in place of the tissue paper. The beauty of this project is that your choices are fun and endless.

I chose these adorable birthday cards because the messages were exactly what I wanted to say to this particular birthday girl.

First, take your picture frames apart, take out the paper insert, clean the glass if need be and get ready to add in your background.

Cut your tissue paper (or gift bag, wrapping paper) to fit the size of the frame. I usually take the glass out, lay it on top of the paper and cut it to fit. You could also trace the sides of the glass with a pen or pencil on the paper too. I actually find that to be easier than cutting around the glass itself.

I then used double-sided tape to paste the card onto the tissue paper but you could also use a glue stick or even hot glue if you don’t have any tape. Then put them into the frame, secure the back and this is what you should have:

I added a bow to the frame for a bit more color and honestly, it looks adorable as part of the frame!

You could also use a smaller 4×6 frame and add a card that you like without even having to use a background.

Just add the card to the frame (I had to cut this card a bit on the bottom to fit).

I love this idea for decor for a bedroom, the birthday party table itself, maybe even a dorm room? Again, endless possibilities.

Add a bow and you have a really fun gift to give!

Wrap it all up with a cool gift bag!

Or some fun wrapping paper!

What can YOU make just perusing the greeting card aisle?

This post has been compensated by Collective Bias, INC. and American Greetings. All opinions are mine alone.

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